The day after we got back from Utah Cam started running a fever. 24 hours later he was sporting a blistery, itchy rash which he apparently picked up from a nasty outbreak in Utah.
We took him to the Urgent care on Sunday, they said it was Hand, Foot and Mouth disease.
If it was Hand, Foot and Mouth disease, his case should've been called Hand, Foot, Mouth, Arms, Legs and...*ahem*...Manly parts disease. Poor little guy.
He was an itchy, miserable baby who could barely eat or sleep because the sores were covering the back of his throat and the inside of his mouth. It was not a happy time at the Rigg house.
The next day I took him to our pediatrician. They said it was the most extreme case of Hand Foot and Mouth they had ever seen and told us to give him ibuprofen for the pain and wait it out.
But as we waited things got worse. The blisters started popping and oozing pus.
They covered his poor little footsies making it painful for him to walk.
They covered his chubby little thumbs, disabling his greatest source of comfort. He would scream because of the pain, then try to console himself with his thumb, then scream again because his thumb hurt. It was heartbreaking!
Finally we took him down to Boston children's hospital
They had the best pediatric doctors and dermatologists look at him and came to the conclusion that it wasn't Hand, Foot and Mouth, but acted more like a radical strain of chicken pox.
They couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was but they knew it was viral so the treatment remained the same. Medicine for the pain, push fluids, wait it out.
It took a full week before the rash stopped blistering and started to scab and heal. It was a rough few days for our little man but the good news is:
A) He's adorable,
B) the scars are finally starting to fade and
C) Hopefully having this exposure will protect him from ever contracting the "Evil rash" again!
30 comments:
Oh my heavens! Those pictures break my heart! Ouch- poor little guy. No one should have to go through that. I'm glad he got through it, but I can imagine that there were some rough days.
So heartbreaking to see the photos, I can't imagine what he must have been feeling. So glad to see him better again. Please give him some love for us <3
HOLY! COW! I have never ever seen something so horrible! Poor little man. Nobody should have to deal with anything like that. SO glad he is doing better!1
I couldn't even believe that when I saw some of these pictures on facebook! I felt so bad for him (and you guys!). Miley had HF&M disease a couple years ago, and gave it to Cameron, and gave it to Cameron and I remember how miserable that week or so was, and it was not NEARLY as bad as poor Cam. Glad he is doing well...hope you all have a HEALTHY year!
Oh that made me cry. What a champ. I bet that was awful having to see him be so miserable. Glad he's doing better. And we're glad Brinley is FOUR!
That is so sad! When I first saw it I couldn't believe it was HFM, we've never had it that bad. Glad you were able to finally figure out what it was, though it is so heartbreaking to have to watch your little guy suffer and not really be able to offer any relief!
HOly cannole! That is the worst thing I have ever seen. That poor child. We had a crazy outbreak where I live and I basically just quarantined my family for a month. That is so hard on so many levels Becca! He is a champ but so are you. It's hard to see your little one suffering like that. You've earned another mommy merit badge, for sure.
Oh, that is too sad and awful! I can't believe how crazy awful it got - he must have been so miserable. As his mom, you must have been dying without anything to do to really help it - what a nightmare. I'm glad he's better.
Poor, poor, poor baby! And poor, poor mommy! That sounds just terrible. Emmett has HFM virus a while back but just a mild version and it still wasn't fun. What Cam had just looks horrific. Glad you both survived it and hope you never see anything similar again!
OMG my little man has that right now just as bad! He is miserable. Four doctors told us they didn't know what it was before a specialist finally recognized it. It's good to know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. How long did the scars last?
This must have been the new strain of the HFMD virus. I think it first started showing up in the US last year. My son has it also but thankfully we just have red bumps, not blisters.
Hope that helps Alicia.
Thanks for posting these photos. They helped me to self diagnose before going back to the doctor who said I had an allergy!
Hello - my little guy has this same rash going on right now! It started 2 weeks agon (6.28.13) and while they are no longer oozing and mostly scabbed over - I am nervous that it is going to scar? How long did it take before the rash went away completely? He was diagnosed with HFM, Impetigo and most recently Fifths Disease -- all viruses that were going around his daycare and they said he got a 'triple whammy' - argghhh!! But now seeing what your diagnosis was, I am second guessing :( If you would private message me at rothstein09@gmail.com - would love to know how long before the rash cleared and if there is any scarring.... Thanks! Tracy
My little one had it once at 7 months and just got it again 14 moths from an outbreak at daycare. Be aware that they can get it again, I've even heard as much as three times.
I have seen this before on both children and adults who are allergic to wool. They get these wool blankets in the navy were I was an emt and the guys take them home or are allergic themselves and don't know it. it causes a full body rash, wherever the wool connected with the person which is usually just the arms and legs or non diaper areas.
oh, use calamine lotion for treatment. how could i forget the treatment.
My son currently has this SAME rash! I was told it was hand foot mouth and he got it from a girl at daycare, but I talked to her mom and hers wasn't nearly this bad. Debating if I should bring him in to the pediatrician again or just wait it out since there seems to be no treatment. If you have any advice plz email me lrerickson_08@yahoo.com
My son had this exact condition but he was diagnosed with excema herpeticum. Did your son have excema? My sons was the cold sore virus infecting his excema
Thank you for posting this!!!!!!!!!!!! I was just wondering if we needed a THIRD opinion! My daughter has the same hand, foot, mouth, arms, legs, belly chicken non-pox virus! you made me feel so much better!
I too am interested to know how long it took to heal? My daughter has something similar. We took her to the dermatologist and we are waiting on lab results.
Please share any advice for dealing with this and healing. We have he first birthday planned in 10 days ...
It took a week for the rash to stop making him miserable, the doctors actually gave him narcotic pain meds because he was hurting so bad. After a week the blisters started to heal and it was fine but the scars took awhile to clear up. Almost 2 years later he still has some scarring from it. Looking back I wonder if putting some anti scar cream on the blisters would've helped…might be worth a try. Sorry your baby is going through this! I know how hard it is on the whole family. Hang in there, the good news is it doesn't last forever!
My son is going through this now. He is 16 months old and didn't sleep for two nights in a row. He's acting more himself now but the blisters are awful and they are everywhere. Looks just like the photos you posted. I'm wondering if I should take him back to his pediatrician because some blisters look like they are drying up but new ones are still forming. The pediatrician told me that it couldn't be chickenpox because he's had the vaccine for that but I'm second guessing the HFM diagnosis. He's been through 2 open heart surgeries and handled those better than he's handling this. It's awful.
My daughter has this now! :( I am so worried about scarring!
My daughter is goin threw the exact same thing... it's all over her little body! She scratches and scratches. So from what I read from your story we just have to wait it out? Her fever goes and comes.. its mostly on her tummy, back and legs...Please if you have any advice email me theramons22@aol.com my family would greatly appreciate it! Your son is so handsome. God bless!
My daughter is goin threw the exact same thing... it's all over her little body! She scratches and scratches. So from what I read from your story we just have to wait it out? Her fever goes and comes.. its mostly on her tummy, back and legs...Please if you have any advice email me theramons22@aol.com my family would greatly appreciate it! Your son is so handsome. God bless!
So glad I found your blog! My son currently has this rash all over his legs and arms! Would you please email me on how long it took for this to go away and if any scarring occurred? My email is leeeza702@gmail.com. I hope to hear from you :)
We live in Tasmania, Aust. and our 2yr old boy has this evil strian of hand foot and mouth. His hand and feet were affected first and took about a week for the blisters to stop appearing. But then the skin began to swell, dry out and split and big patches of dead skin feel off. Under was raw thin skin that split whenever he used his hands. He started getting more spots on his legs, belly, face and bum around week two. We are in week three and his hands are still splitting and peeling and his body looks just like your boy and spots are still popping up! I'm afraid that his going to have massive scabs falling off (just like his hands) and scarring his beautiful body. If only there was something we could do to ease his pain other than pumping him up with paracetemol
My son has had this disease twice now, both times he looked like the pictures. This time his mouth and throat are covered. Condy's Crystals ease the pain and assist with the rash. Make a bath and sprinkle until the water is the colour of the pink pages in a phone book or a pink rose petal. pour the water over the entire body. It helps our precious boy through this dreaded disease.
thanks so much for posting..we are in england...the doctors firstly couldnt tell us what is it on our son...the photos you have posted are exactly the same as our 1 year old..we are treating it as a chixpox but boy it is bad!!!!..ive been looking up impetigo, hand foot and mouth and non of the images match apart from your photos , kind regards x
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